Professor Frank Gannon is CEO ofQIMR Berghofer, a world leading medical research institute which focuses on four areas of research: Cancer, infectious diseases, mental health and chronic disorders. Established 70 years ago, it is one of Australia’s most successful medical research institutes and has around 700 scientists, students and support staff. Frank is the institute’s 7th Director and CEO after assuming the role in 2011. Previously, he was the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland and from 1994 to 2007, was the Executive Director of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), and Senior Scientist at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) based in Germany. He has also previously been the Director of the National Diagnostic Centre and Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology at University College Galway, Ireland.

In 1970, Frank earned a Bachelor of Science from the National University of Ireland in Galway, followed by a Phd from the University of Leicester, England in 1973. Later, he was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Madison Wisconsin in the USA and Chargé de Recherche in INSERM at the University of Strasbourg, France from 1975 to 1981, after which he returned to Galway, Ireland, where he was born and raised.

Throughout his career Frank has travelled and worked all over the world including in the United States, France, Germany, and now here in Australia. Sit down with Frank to discuss his is career and the words ‘opportunity’, ‘challenge’ and ‘potential’ arise time and time again. Indeed, Frank is someone who like to push the boundaries; someone who is driven by his work and dedicated to the cause and ethos of the institute. He is at the peak of his career internationally and Brisbane is fortunate to have him working within the domains of medicine, research and science.

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